HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



147 



the Rhine, Bonaparte hereupon 

 issued a proclamafion to his troops, 

 wherein he stated, " that the third 

 coalition had commenced ; the Aus- 

 trian army had passed the Inn ; 

 and, in violation of all treaties, had 

 attacked and driven his ally from 

 his capital. Wc will not stop, con- 

 tinues he, until wo have secured the 

 independence of the Germanic bo- 

 dy, relieved our allies, and con- 

 founded the pride of unjust assail- 

 ants. — Our politics shall not again 

 suffer by our generosity : for we 

 will not make peace, without a 

 guarantee for its execution. —Sol- 

 diers your emperor is in the midst 

 of you. — You are but the van- 

 guard of the great nation ; it it be 

 necessary, it will in a moment rise, 

 at my voice, to dissolve this new 

 league, which British gold and 

 hatred have woven. We have to 

 expert privations and hardships of 

 every description, but we will con- 

 quer every obstacle, and we will 

 not rest, until we have planted 

 our eagles on the territories of our 

 enemies." Having left his court, 

 accompanied by his staff, and a 

 part of his guards, he crossed the 

 Rhine at Kehl, on the. 29th, to 

 join the army. That night he pass- 

 ed at Ettlingcu, where he received 

 the complimenis of the eleftor and 

 jlrincess of Baden, and the next day 

 he proceeded to Louisburgh, and 

 took up hi.s abode in the palac; of 

 the elector of Wirtemburg. 



On the same day the divisions of 

 marshal Bernadotte and general 

 Marmont formed a junction with 

 the Bavarians at Wurtzburgh, and 

 commenced their march to the 

 Danube. Marshal Davoust's corps 

 marched from Ncckar-Eltz,ai)d pur- 

 sued the rout by Knglefinghen, Dun- 

 kelsbuhl, Attingen, and Donawert. 



Marshal Soult, with his corps, took 

 the rout from Ochringen, Absge- 

 mund, Aalen, and Nordlingen. — 

 Marshal Ncy,with his corps, march- 

 ed from Stiitgardt, and proceeded 

 by Eppingen, Wissenstein, and Na- 

 hum, and marshal Lannes' corps 

 broke up from Louisburgh, and 

 took the rout by Plutershausen, 

 Aalen, and Oedlingen. The posi- 

 tion of the French army on the 4th: 

 of October was as follows :— Mar- 

 shal Bernadotte and the Bavarians 

 were at Weisenburg, marshal Da- 

 voust at Attingen, on the river Rei- 

 nitz, marshal Soult at Donawert, 

 marshal Ney at Kcsingen, marshal 

 Lannes at Nereshcin, and Muratj, 

 with his cavalry, on the borders of 

 the Danube. 



On the other hand, the Austrian 

 army, consisting of between eightj 

 and ninety thousand men, under the 

 command of general Mack, had ad- 

 vanced fo the defiles of the Black 

 Forest, apparently with the inten- 

 tion of preventing the French army 

 from penetrating. They had thrown 

 up fortifications on the river Iller, 

 and Were strengthening Memmin- 

 gen and Ulm ; but all these measures 

 of precaution were of little avail, as 

 the French array had taken a roate 

 not suspected by their adversaries, 

 and were already in the rear of the 

 Austrians. 



A division of marshal Soult's corps 

 had, by a forced march, made them- 

 selves master of a bridge at Dona- 

 wert, whijch was defended by the 

 regiment of Colloredo, after thft 

 loss of a few men. 



The next morning, at day break, 

 Murat arrived there with ins dra- 

 goon?, passed the bridge,whi<;h ho had 

 caused to be repaired, and, in con- 

 juntlion with the cavalry com- 

 manded by gotieralWaltbcr, advauc- 



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